Mariana.
A couple days passed by with her huddled up in what had become her room, gnawing her nails off in stress. Logan had insisted to postpone the battle of sexes until she had made a full recovery, and finally the the big day had arrived.
She was so nervous she couldn't stomach solids. Too late to chicken-out. Her life was particularly at the stake here.
No pressure.
Mariana lifted her head when a gentle knock sounded through the room. "Mari? Can I come in?" Natalie's voice came from the other side. She didn't wait to be invited, marching inside with determination only a pregnant woman could master. "How are you feeling?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
The entire pack was hyped. Rumors spread like wildfire (thanks Gwen), and now there were two camps - party Mariana and party Logan. The male population had gone into uproar when they heard about the fight. Majority were placing bets who would win. Odds weren't exactly in her favor. One guy was so confident she would lose, he bet a thousand bucks on Logan and bragged about it. Asshole.
"I still can't believe you are doing this." Natalie confessed.
"Me neither."
She was fighting literally for women rights, talk about taking feminism to the next level.
"I think it's very brave of you. I'm secretly rooting for you."
I did not see that coming.
Natalie gave off an impression of being loyal to existing rules. She seemed content as it was.
"You seem shocked." The woman smiled softly, caressing her large stomach. "Our world isn't safe," She continued, "If something happened to Max, I wouldn't be able to defend my children. I would give my life for them, sure, but if I was faced with hunters like you were, I wouldn't have survived." The bitterness in her tone was potent.
"I did get shot, remember?" Mariana stood up from the windowsill she was perched on.
"But you are alive. You knew how to fight them." Natalie looked deep into her eyes, serious. "I hope you win today."
That struck deep. Sudden weight landed on her shoulders. This wasn't just her life on the stake. With that realization also came determination and strength.
Mariana set her hand on Natalie's shoulder. "I will win. I promise."
The two exchanged a smile.
"You better, now let's go."
She sucked in a deep breath. There goes nothing.
'The Battle Royale' was set in a pack house gym. It was large enough to fit all the willing spectators. And there were fucking many of them. Werewolves were gathering on the sides, cramming up the space like sardines.
Navy blue matts were laid out in the middle of the floor. Logan was already there, standing proud and tall. He looked absolutely mouth-watering in black basketball shorts and sleeveless top that exposed every curve of fine muscles swelling underneath his skin. His body was one of a warrior, strong and large.
I'm fucked. Mariana didn't let that emotion slip onto her face. He was distracting her with his lady-killer looks. She could return the favor.
As she stepped onto the matts, the jacket she wore was discarded to the side, leaving her in a sports bra and leggings. Worked like magic. Logan's intense stare flicked over her form and his jaw flexed. He liked what he was seeing.
"Competitors!" Caleb stepped into the center, huge smile on his lips.
What a showman.
"First, the rules." He stared, acting like a true MC of this grand event. "The fight will be held in human form. Shifting is strictly forbidden." The man glanced between her and his brother as if to make sure they understood. "No biting, clawing or use of weapons." Caleb raised his finger. "And the most important part, no blows to the crotch."
Logan nodded once. She did the same. Though it was a shame she couldn't kick his nuts for all the things he said. Fair fight it was...
Caleb nodded, his gaze lingering on Mariana. "Good. Let the best one win!" He stepped off the matts and the real fight was on.
This felt like a scene from a western movie. Two cowboys, locked in intense stare-down, ball of hay rolling somewhere in distance. Who will pull the gun first?
They circled, assessing each other for weaknesses. Intense focus reflected in his steely gaze. He wasn't playing around, intent seeped through every hardened feature - he was there to win. And so was she.
After he first played out the 'rules', she was seconds away from ordering a Logan lookalike pinata and whacking the comfort candy out of it. Screw that. The real thing was far better. She had every intention of giving him a nice, black shiner to sport for a following week.
As if his inner "mate is up to something" radar had caught a whiff of her thoughts, Logan's stare flicked to the side and then he pounced.
The speed on the man caught her off guard. For someone his size, she hadn't imagined he could move this fast. Mariana just barely managed to duck under his arm and twist her body away from the angry white-knuckled first.
His attacks were vicious. The crowd watched with bated breath. With corner of her eye, she caught Caleb stroking his jaw nervously, pacing back and forth, his eyes trained on the battling duo. The thought of the handsome ladies man being all skittish was excrilleating and distracting enough for her to majorly fuck up.
Mariana gasped when a sudden blow knocked her off her feet. Her legs went up and her butt gravitated towards the ground in an alarming speed. With all the grace of herd of elephants, she whumped straight onto the blue mattress that wasn't nearly as soft as it looked.
A couple woops came from the rowdy crowd. Almost all men wore nasty grins. They sneered and whispered among themselves like flock of high school Barbies. Very mature. But a couple overgrown boys was the least painful thorn in her side.
Logan stood over her sprayed out self, his arms crossed over his heaving chest and haughty look in his laser-beam eyes. His expression particularly screamed "I told you so." And fuck, she would die before she heard him voice those words.
Mariana swung her leg directly for his ankles. She could've sworn they were made of steel. Having to bite back a howl of pain, the young woman watched the mass of the man wobble. His eyebrows shot up, eyes widened with open surprise and the muscular body gave an awkward jerk.
The ground shook when his six-foot-five frame hit the matts. Collective 'uhh' echoed around them. She didn't pause to admire her handiwork, bounding forwards to tackle the man before he got on his feet.
Logan grunted as she landed on top him, pinning his down underneath her. "Gotcha." Her hips settled on his, both her knees digging into his wrists. Sparks exploded across her skin like fireworks. His shocked expression melted away into something she hadn't expected to see. Pride? Why the fuck did he look so happy when she was the one towering over him?
Then she felt it...something hard pressing against her inner thigh. Her libido woke and took notice instantly. Hello.
Did I give him a stiffie? Holy-
Stupidly, she glanced down and the world went spinning. In a flash, her back was against the matts and dark-eyed man was looming over her, his forearm pressing against her throat. The wrong brain in her body hummed with the friction of having him settled between her legs.
"You lost." He mouthed.
The simple soundless words smacked her harder than any fist.
Speak of a reality check, someone cleared their throat in distance. Both of them glanced to the side at frowning Caleb. If looks could kill....
Gwen by his side had turned beat red and other werewolves sported a mixture of funny grins and disappointed pouts.
Logan shuffled to his feet, dragging the poor looser with him with easy motion. Mariana felt like a deflated balloon. If she hadn't tried to get a glimpse of his hard-on, she would've won. But nooo...seeing his dick had taken priority. She couldn't look anyone in the eye, studying the blue matts and having an inner cringe-fest instead.
"You'll be training them."
Her thoughts came to a screeching halt. "Come again?" Mariana deadpanned.
"I said, you will be training the females." Logan said matter-of-factly.
"But..." But he won! He fucking shoved it in her face! And now he was what...giving up his win?
The corners of his lips twitched as if he was resisting a smile. "Only two people have managed to tackle me, one of them is you." He admitted, his features hardly giving away any damage to his pride if there was any.
Count me baffled...
She waited for him to continue like an eager puppy, but instead he walked away without a second glance at her. Everyone looked shocked.
Mariana stared blankly at his back until Logan was out of sight, butterflies swirling out of control.